Ama Ergo Sum
by Gallifreyan Annihilator
Summary: Kazuha goes to a speed dating panel, but not to find a boyfriend. One of Kaito's many aliases goes to a speed dating panel, but not to find a girlfriend. Somehow, they both manage to find one anyways. Kind of. /KaiZuha, background HeiShin and AoHaku/


**Summary:** Kazuha goes to a speed dating panel, but not to find a boyfriend. One of Kaito's many aliases goes to a speed dating panel, but not to find a girlfriend. Somehow, they both manage to find one anyways. Kind of. /KaiZuha, background HeiShin and AoHaku/

 **GA:** It was Kaito's birthday about a week (and two/three days) ago, so what do I do for his belated birthday fic? Write for a pairing that nobody else ships, of course! If you've never shipped it before, then I'm glad you decided to give this fic a try because it needs more love.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **AMA ERGO SUM**

* * *

"Heiji, I'm fine!" The forceful voice that echoed from the phone informed Heiji as to his best friend's state more than her words did. Toyama Kazuha was, in fact, not okay. Not that Heiji blamed her, really. Just the day prior, he had announced his relationship with Shinichi, breaking everybody's expectations of him marrying Kazuha - and breaking Kazuha's heart, in the process.

Shinichi shot his boyfriend a sympathetic glance. Despite his and Ran's mutual agreement to break off any relationship they had - after an entire year of hiding in plain sight, they agreed that it would never have worked - Ran had also reacted violently, although it was short lived and ended with Ran threatening to break Heiji's spine if he ever hurt Shinichi. This...was worse. There had been no doubt in Shinichi's mind that Kazuha's affection for Heiji had been real, and to hear that he was going out with another guy must have been a hard hit. He only wished that she would have more common sense than to take it out on him.

"Ya don't sound fine," was Heiji's equally loud response, both of them all too used to yelling at each other. "What, is it cause a' me an' Kudo?"

There was a loud noise in the other end, Heiji guessed that she broke something, and Kazuha replied again. "I don't care 'bout you or Kudo! Jus' leave me alone!" Before he could respond, the line closed with a click, the only quiet noise throughout their short conversation. It soon turned into a dial tone, and Heiji looked up from the offending piece of technology to stare guiltily at Shinichi. "Sorry ya had ta hear that."

He simply sighed in response. "It's fine. I just hope she gets over it soon."

* * *

Kazuha glared at her cellphone as though it were the one responsible for her frustration. The _[call ended]_ screen blinked innocently back. After a few more seconds of trying to mentally set it on fire, she finally gave it reprieve and sighed, throwing it on the kitchen counter. Next to it, the cutlery drawer looked like it had seen some better days, halfway open with a large mark from where Kazuha had slammed it shut.

There was a knock on the front door, and Kazuha had half the mind to yell at whoever it was to leave. However, as the bell rang shortly after, she just groaned and got up, throwing the door open and-

-staring in shock at the familiar brunette standing there awkwardly. "Ran-chan? What're ya doin' here?"

"I thought you might need some company..." She trailed off, trying to gauge the other girl's reaction. She didn't have to say why, since Kazuha had a good idea already. "I have cake?"

She held up the box in her hands, almost pleadingly, and Kazuha almost laughed. They were an absolute wreck. Two girls who lost their guys to, well, their guys. "Come on in," she finally said, stepping away from the door. "Got nothin' better ta do."

The two settled in the living room, neither of them saying much or even moving to open the cake box. Ran tried to break the silence, but it was awkward and clunky. "Kazuha-chan, I..." She stopped, was silent for a moment, and started again. "You know, maybe it'd be best if we find other guys to be around."

Now, Kazuha wasn't one to yell at her best friend, but she was pretty damn close as soon as those words left her mouth. "What? So I can't be friends with Heiji since he's always gonna be 'round Kudo?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Ran hissed back sharply, both of them recoiling at her tone. "It's just...you're really attached to Hattori-kun, and I'm that way with Shinichi. Maybe we should find other guys to hang out with. You know, so we aren't so dependent on them."

Ran had a point, but it hurt that Kazuha didn't want her to have a point. She had been so dead set on it being her and Heiji, forever, that she hadn't stopped to consider what would happen if it wasn't forever. And now that the day had come, she...was lost. "Yeah, an' how do ya suppose we do that?"

Ran cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, Sonoko invited me to this...speed dating event this Saturday, and she said that you were more than welcome to come, too." It sounded like a terrible idea, honestly. Two girls looking for independence from the two guys who broke their hearts...Kazuha could just see it coming, the risk of falling for a rebound, or even being taken advantage of. "I'm going since I already promised Sonoko, but you don't have to if you don't want..."

All right then, she made up her mind. "I'm gonna pass on this one, Ran-chan, but thanks fer the invite."

"Any time." At least she wasn't angry at that moment, and that was all Ran could really do for her. "If you change your mind, though, just give me a call."

"A' course I will. Now about that cake..."

* * *

"Bakaito! Where do you think you're running off to all of a sudden?!" One Nakamori Aoko stood in the doorway of the classroom, glaring daggers at her best friend. "You promised me that you would go get ice cream with me after school today!"

Yeah, well, Kuroba Kaito thought sardonically, that was before Jirokichi came up with another hare-brained scheme in an attempt to catch the uncatchable Kaitou KID. He needed to do some research, and his best possible in was that stupid mixer that his granddaughter was throwing. Before that, though, he had to cook up another disguise, one that nobody had seen before. And that was why he was too busy to take Aoko out for ice cream.

Of course, it wasn't as though he could tell her that.

"I'm busy! Why don't you go with your boyfriend?" He totally wasn't bitter about that still. No, wait, he totally was, and Aoko knew it.

"You need to get over yourself, Kaito! Just because you don't like Saguru-kun doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to date him!" She scowled at Kaito, who raised an eyebrow at the detective in question. Hakuba didn't say anything, and instead opted to not-so-subtly turn away from the duo. Both of the boys knew how Aoko got when she was in a mood. Kaito was on his own for this one.

Kaito stuck his tongue out at Aoko before ducking under her arm, dashing out of the school before she could grab the nearest mop. "Sorry, gotta go, bye!" He shouted behind him, and didn't stop until he got all the way home.

As he set his backpack down, he gave a deep sigh. Honestly, it wasn't as though he was still hung up over Aoko. She hated him, whether she knew it or not, and there were just too many secrets between them to make it work. But losing her to Hakuba, of all people...it pissed him off. He was the gentleman she deserved, he begrudgingly accepted that much, but...Hakuba. He needed no good reason to be viciously unaccepting of Hakuba Saguru.

The door to the KID basement creaked open as he pushed against the poster. It felt like a ritual - he left Kaito outside of the room, back in his house, and KID would take his turn in the spotlight. And then when he came back from a heist, he would step out of KID and back into himself, the opposite of whence he came.

But today wasn't a day for KID, it was a day for Fushida Ryuu, the bright young college student who enjoyed dancing and horror movies and the occasional root beer float. The disguise was one of his less intricate ones, since it had to be flexible enough to be used in a pinch. Makeup did wonders in changing the apparent shape of his cheekbones and jaw, and his favorite foundation turned his skin from pale honey to a slightly darker shade. The wig was jet black, slightly shaggier than the rumpled mess that his own usually was, and the fringe swept neatly over one of his green contact eyes. Overall, an attractive, if not average-looking man.

"I- I- I-" He began testing out different voices, trying to find one that fit the man Ryuu was supposed to be. No accent, he would be more noticeable if he didn't sound like a native, and not too low, either - while a baritone voice didn't sound unattractive and fit well with his character, if it was too low, then people were going to notice. No, he settled for a low tenor, a few pitches down from his regular voice. "I'm Fushida Ryuu, it's nice to meet you." Yes, that was great. The personality that flowed in the words was calm but kind, and he attempted a warm smile in the mirror.

Perfect.

Well, the mixer wasn't for another two days, but he had might as well get used to the facade that he'd be using. The more solid his character was, the better. "Fushida Ryuu," he muttered to himself, and already his regular voice felt wrong coming from this face, "let's see what you can do."

* * *

School the next day wasn't kind to Kazuha, not when Heiji was still sending her worried glances all throughout class. It was bad enough that he had ended up dating Kudo, but now that he was showing concern, Kazuha was liable to scream. It almost would have been easier if he had just stopped caring about her at all, so she could start getting over the idiot already.

But instead, he did the complete opposite, and it shouldn't have surprised her that he all but cornered her at lunch, when she tried to escape to the rooftop. "Are ya even listenin' ta yerself? Yer not okay!"

"I'm fine!" Their argument was so loud, she wouldn't have been surprised if everybody on campus heard them. "I don't care 'bout you an' Kudo! I'm happy fer ya!" Her voice was slowly rising in pitch, and she would have been in hysterics if she was any other girl. "In fact, I'm gonna try ta find myself a boyfriend!"

That shocked Heiji enough for Kazuha to allow herself some smug satisfaction. "What? Ya never told me any a' this!"

Kazuha snorted to herself; even if she had told him, he probably wouldn't have listened anyways. "I'm goin' ta this thing that Ran-chan invited me to tomorra'," she said before really thinking about it. She hadn't been planning on going, not really, but Heiji had just pissed her off so much... "So ya don't hafta worry 'bout me, all right?"

He shot her a dubious glance before backing off. "Fine, I get it," he said after a moment. "Jus' take care a' yerself."

She scowled at him, not needing to be told what to do by Hattori Heiji, of all people. "I will," she huffed, before storming past him, back into the school.

Heiji stared worriedly at her retreating figure for a few moments before following.

* * *

"Fushida Ryuu," Kaito smoothly offered his false name to the woman at the table. "I called in a reserve yesterday."

She smiled back brightly - whether she was being courteous or was actually trying to flirt with him, he didn't really care either way - and handed him a laminated name tag. "You're all set, Fushida-san. Have a great night!"

He smiled back, ignoring the obnoxious batting of her eyelashes. So it was flirting. "I will, thank you." He barely spared her another glance as he pinned the name tag to his shirt and entered the large hall. It looked less like a speed dating service, and more like a gala, if you asked him. Nobody was dressed too formally, thank god, but there were still too many people for his liking.

This was where Jirokichi was challenging him, in the middle of an open area, with several windows higher up, two sets of double doors, and a ventilation shaft if it all went to hell. Really, what was the old coot thinking? It almost felt like the heist would be too easy. The only issue was the one at the moment: the number of people, as well as the security. He had wanted to plant a bug somewhere inconspicuous, but it looked like there were guards stationed at random intervals around the room, and Kaito had to wonder if there were also undercover police in the crowd. So Jirokichi knew that he was going to use the mixer to his advantage. Sly dog, but not sly enough.

He grabbed himself a glass of punch - there were no alcoholic beverages, undoubtedly because of the number of high school students, but he suspected that Suzuki-chan would be counting on one of her many, ah, guests to spike the punch before the night was over. He watched them all with sharp eyes, trying to figure out which ones were policemen. When it came to the actual speed dating portion of the night, he didn't want to end up saying too much to the wrong person - or lose his chance to gather more intel by playing it safe with a civilian.

He had been standing there for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, and had drank three cups of punch in that time, before Suzuki-chan finally announced that they would start the event. It was standard procedure for the most part, twelve men and women each, five minutes at each table with the men rotating counter-clockwise. All in all, he estimated that they'd be done in an hour, more than enough time to wheedle out some good information from the more loose-lipped of the group. After his preliminary sweep of the crowd, he managed to spot four officers in total, all of them wearing rather conspicuous earpieces. They were also remarkably older than the rest of the crowd, which only made them easier to identify.

As he settled himself at a table between a dark-haired gangster-type narc and astoundingly short bespectacled blond, he smiled at the first of many girls he would talk to.

His smile wasn't necessarily for her.

* * *

To Kazuha, the hour felt like an eternity, having to play host to a different man every five minutes. The vast majority of the strangers she talked to were, and she wasn't one to mince words, sleazy. As much of a ditz as Heiji claimed her to be, she could tell when a guy just wanted to get into her pants, and while she appreciated Sonoko as a friend, she had to wonder where exactly she found these guys.

"So, did you find anybody you're interested in?" Ran nudged her in the side teasingly. "Come on, there had to be somebody who caught your attention."

Kazuha was looking for a friend, not a lover, and they both knew that - which really only left two options. One was Takanoshi-san, a friendly guy who had openly admitted that he wasn't looking for a relationship, and the other was Fushida-san, who was honestly one of the most openly kind people she had met that day. She bit her lip in thought, still unsure about trying to kindle a friendship with somebody she had only talked to for five minutes. "I dunno, Ran-chan."

Even as she spoke, people were slowly filtering out of the hall, either with somebody they had just met or alone. She saw Fushida-san entertaining two girls in the far corner, but there was no sign of Takanoshi-san anywhere; he must have disappeared in the first wave of absconders. That only left the other man, but he looked as though he were about to be taken, too-

-or so she thought, but the two women suddenly seemed to change their mind and storm off in a huff, leaving Fushida-san rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Ran must have noticed her staring at him, because she pushed her slightly in his direction before seeking out Sonoko, leaving the Osakan by herself.

With a sigh, she made her way towards Fushida-san, an uneasy smile on her face.

Kaito tore his attention away from the girls who had just left him as soon as he realized he was being approached. Her nametag read Toyama Kazuha, and he remembered her as being rather reserved - and having a surprisingly thick Osakan accent. "Having trouble there?" She tried to start a conversation, and Kaito sighed. Ryuu was just too kind to turn down a conversation. He really needed to pick better aliases.

"Just a little," he confessed, laughing lightly. "They were rather, uh, pushy." That was the understatement of the century. They were looking for a threesome - not a question he had particularly been prepared to deal with. Toyama-san seemed to have the same impression that he did, and he wondered how many guys had tried to pick her up. She was attractive, he'd give her that, but that spelled danger in places like these. "Can I help you with something?"

She looked torn for a moment, and hesitated for just a little too long. Kaito opened his mouth to wave off the question, when she suddenly blurted out, "Will ya go out with me?"

The question shocked both him and her, which raised even more questions in his mind. "Not, like, go out out," she tried to backpedal, "more like go friends out- out as friends? Is that a thing?"

"Toyama-san, calm down." He could tell she was getting worked up just by talking, and he helped her slow down her breathing before talking again. "Now start from the beginning."

"Ya see, I have this...best friend." She hesitated - an ex? Or maybe somebody she had a crush on? There was definitely more behind her words than just a friend. "An' he started goin' out with one a' my other friends." Yep, definitely a crush. "An' he keeps buggin' me 'bout if I'm all right, an' I just want him ta leave me alone!"

Her last few words were filled with frustration, and he mentally raised an eyebrow even as his face remained calm. "So you want to go out with me to prove that you're okay."

"Yes! I mean- no!" She sighed. "I jus' need a friend, is what I'm sayin'." He understood perfectly well; her dependence on this guy was probably through the roof, and she just needed to prove to him that she could spread her wings out and not be so needy.

At that point, he should have said no. He was getting in over his head, and any attachment to Toyama-san would have jeopardized his alias. But something stopped him. Maybe it was sympathy, because she honestly was in a bind. Maybe it was empathy, because Kaito knew exactly what she was going through, was still going through the same thing himself. Or maybe it was just that Fushida Ryuu was such a nice person that he couldn't say no to a girl in need.

In any case, the next words out of his mouth weren't ones of rejection. "All right, I'll help you." She looked up at him in surprise, and he had to choke back a laugh at her impression of a deer in the headlights. "But it's not a date, and if we go out to eat, we're going Dutch."

She frowned, and he wondered if she was just trying to use him for money, until she spoke again. "I can't let ya do that. I'm already inconveniencing ya, I can pay for everythin'."

Oh no. She was going to make him feel guilty.

"We're going Dutch."

* * *

By the time Kazuha was finished talking to Fushida-san, they had exchanged phone numbers (his phone was surprisingly new, and he had admitted to having only bought it yesterday) and set a date for their next meeting (next Saturday, in Osaka because "it would be an inconvenience for you to have to come all the way to Tokyo again"), and Ran was wearing a smug grin that she had never really seen on her friend before. "So, how did it go?" She asked, although she had been watching the entire transaction and knew exactly how it had gone. "Fushida-san was nice, right?"

"He was all right," she said casually, watching him leave. "We're meetin' up again later." She thought she hadn't said anything particularly exciting, but the glee on Ran's face said otherwise. "What? Is somethin' tha matter?"

"Of course something's the matter," was her reply. "You're going out with a guy." Well, in Kazuha's perspective, they weren't really going out. It was more of an outing. Sure, they were basically the same thing, but it wasn't like she was romantically interested in him. "Have you never been on a date?"

"First a' all, it ain't a date." She was probably going to end up getting sick of correcting her. "An' second of all, it's nothin' special, is it? Jus' goin' out with a friend, is all." That was what she had tried to tell herself back when she and Heiji were still...she shook her head. She would not think about Hattori Heiji and his stupid face while she was trying to have fun. "Didja find anyone that caught yer eye?"

Ran waved off the question, but Kazuha already knew her answer, anyways. "Not really. None of them were really my type." In less polite terms, they were all douchebags. "But I want to hear more about Fushida-san. What are you two going to do? Oh! What are you going to wear?"

Before she knew it, Kazuha was already being swept away by Ran's barrage of questions. The mixer might have been over, but it was still looking to be a long night.

* * *

By the time he got home, Kaito sorely regretted ever going to the mixer in the first place. The information he had received was completely useless - although now he knew ten women who enjoyed long walks on the beach, one whose skin reacted violently to salt water, and Toyama-san - and he was roped up in a scheme he really had no business being roped up in.

He tossed his wig into the closet reserved for disguises, and his clothes soon followed as he changed into something more comfortable. Well, the plus side to the entire thing was that now he had more time to build up Ryuu, plus he hadn't used a latex mask so it would be easier to jump in and out of costume.

His personal phone - the one reserved for Kaito and only Kaito - read thirteen text messages and one voicemail; they were all from Aoko. What had he told her, again? That he would be busy that night? He never gave her a concrete alibi, just dismissed his work as something or other.

He bit back a groan at both her actions and his own. She was being ridiculously over the top, now that they were 'permanently best friends and nothing more'. He had to wonder if part of her change was that bastard's doing. But he was also partially at fault, and he could admit as much. He wasn't actively pushing her away, but...KID had so much more to do nowadays, and he was dismissing her so much more than often, so he could see why she would interpret it as him being upset over them.

A finger hovered over the call button next to her name, but he hesitated and settled for texting her instead. It was short, informal, to the point.

 _[text:] I'm fine._

With one more deep sigh, he tossed his phone onto his bed and descended once more into the KID room. There would be no sleep tonight.

* * *

Saturday to Saturday - one full week. Kazuha hadn't particularly expected to not stay in touch with Fushida-san throughout those seven days, but she was still surprised when she received a text during lunch that Monday.

 _[text:] What're you up to?_

She frowned at the text, not suspicious but confused. She knew he was being friendly, but it was still odd, to her at least, to receive a message like that from a guy she had just met. A guy she had just met who agreed to hang out with her, she reminded herself. The thought became less weird the more she remembered it.

 _[text:] Lunch. Class jus' ended, so ya texted at a good time._

 _[text:] Hehe._

'Hehe'? What was that supposed to mean?

 _[text:] What's so funny?_

 _[text:] Oh, nothing. Just that you even type in Kansai-ben._

She fought the urge to flush in embarrassment. She spent so much time in Tokyo with Ran that their city accents had started to sound natural to her. The way her Kansai-ben sounded to them, though, probably wasn't the same way. She was about to reply with a sarcastic comment, when Fushida-san sent another message.

 _[text:] It's cute._

She could see why those girls had been bugging him before. He really was quite the charmer, whether he knew it or not. Was he just being friendly, still? She only talked him for all of twenty or thirty minutes, but he seemed pretty oblivious. Probably.

 _[text:] Thanks, but flirtin' ain't gonna get ya any points with me._

 _[text:] I'm not flirting, I'm just saying that your way of typing is cute. It's, what's the word, unique._

She rolled her eyes. Just like she said. Oblivious.

 _[text:] Thanks, but do ya tell every pretty girl that? Because that's flirtin', right there._

* * *

Kaito stared at his - no, Ryuu's phone with a snicker. It really had just been a compliment, but Toyama-san had taken it the wrong way. Did Ryuu come off as the flirtatious type? No, he tried to make it absolutely certain that he didn't have any particularly outstanding traits that could pick him out of a crowd. Being a ladykiller was too damn conspicuous for an average Joe.

Still, Toyama-san had managed to do it.

 _[text:] I don't, in fact. But I still don't get how that's considered flirting._

He would build up from there. He mentally added another trait to the mental checklist that he had been creating for Fushida: 'doesn't know the difference between chivalry and flirting'.

 _[text:] Yer too nice all tha time. That's probably why ya were bein' bugged so much._

 _[text:] Ah, but I'm only nice to pretty ladies._

Whoops. That came out on accident, and he rued the day he began using the enter key instead of rereading his texts and pressing send. He half expected Toyama-san to get mad at him, to tell him that she wanted to call off the deal (which would have frankly been a huge relief), but he just got another two text in response.

 _[text:] Ya damn bastard, ya knew you were flirtin' this entire time. :P_  
 _[text:] But anyways, what're ya up to, yerself?_

Fushida was a college student, while Kaito was still in high school, but the gist was the same, right? And technically he was only half lying, so...

 _[text:] Sitting in class. The professor's just droning on about stuff I already know._

 _[text:] So yer a genius, is that it? What's yer major?_

 _[text:] Physics. And I'm not that smart, just well read._

She did a good job in stroking his ego, that much was for sure. And it wasn't quite a lie to tell her that he was studying physics - coming up with magic tricks that took gravity and other pesky laws and theories into account could be considered studying, right? When he actually did go to college, he was going to be studying the same anyways, so he was only lying one year ahead of himself.

 _[text:] Physics? And yer not a genius? Stop lyin' ta me._

 _[text:] Haha, very funny. But you're still in high school, right? What are you thinking of doing?_

 _[text:] I'unno. Maybe something like early education 'r somethin'._

So Toyama-san wanted to work with kids. He could see that, sort of. Their conversation continued throughout her lunch period, bouncing random topics off of each other. By the time she told him that she had to leave, he hadn't even noticed that his own lunch break had started - and was halfway over.

He ignored the suspicious and confused glances from Hakuba and Aoko, respectively, and pulled out his bento, mentally chastising himself for losing track of time. He really needed to pay more attention.

* * *

To Kazuha's surprise (she was still surprised, although the shock was wearing off), the texting continued on throughout the week. Sometimes they talked about the news, or specific things that the two of them brought up, but other times it was just nonsense, little things about each other that really didn't matter. She even kept a running tally of all the things she learned about Fushida-san, finding herself more invested in this new friend than she thought she would be.

Wednesday, she found out that he was afraid of fish. He called it embarrassing. She, in reference to their first conversation, called it unique.

Thursday, she discovered what a chocoholic he was. She had mentioned the cake she had baked as a thank you present for Ran, and his interest had been piqued almost immediately.

Friday was when they discussed what they were going to do the next day. Going to an aquarium was a terrible idea, both of them agreed upon that much, and it took them her entire lunch period, which consisted of texting each other back and forth and looking up bullet train lines, to finally agree on lunch and a movie.

 _[text:] Sorry fer makin' ya come all the way out here, though._

 _[text:] I'm the one who offered, remember? Anyways, it's no skin off my back._

She was in the middle of texting a reply back when her phone was plucked right out of her hands, with Heiji scrolling suspiciously through the texts. "Who is this guy," he demanded as he held the phone away from her, "and why're ya so interested in him all of a sudden?"

"Heiji, give it...back!" She reached for the phone, but he kept her at bay, keeping his focus on the text messages and not even looking at Kazuha as she seethed at him. "Why? Am I not allowed ta have other friends 'sides you?" She snorted, turning away from him. His protectiveness hurt, whether he knew it or not, reminding her every time of why she fell for the thick-skulled idiot in the first place. "I met him at tha thing I went to with Ran-chan, if ya hafta know, and we're gonna go watch a movie together."

"What's his name?" Heiji finally glanced over at her before typing out a message. "I need ta make sure this guy's worth yer time." Right as he clicked send, she lunged for the phone, yanking it out of his grasp.

"I don't need your approval," she all but shouted, drawing the attention of the rest of the class. "So would ya mind leavin' me alone?!" She didn't even bother checking what he sent to Fushida-san before she closed her phone and muttered something about _whiny detective brat_.

* * *

When Kaito checked the last message from Toyama-san, he nearly had a heart attack in the middle of the classroom.

 _[text:] I know who ya are so don't ya dare try ta hurt Kazuha._

There was a flicker of panic as he believed for a few seconds that somebody had actually managed to find out that Fushida Ryuu was another KID disguise, but he managed to rationalize through most of the fear. Even Toyama-san didn't know that they were one and the same, so it was extremely unlikely that this person could have figured it out in the time it took to separate her from her phone.

Speaking of, he wondered who that person was. It wouldn't have surprised him if it was the guy that Toyama-san had been pining after. He sounded like the possessive kind - even if he was going out with some other girl instead of Toyama-san, he could see why she grew so attached to him. He felt the slightest bit of pain, and a large amount of sympathy for Toyama-san. Aoko had been bugging him all week, demanding that he tell her where he's been and why he'd been acting so weird. Putting him in the same position that his - Ryuu's - new friend was in. The worst part, though, was that he couldn't tell Aoko where he had been.

Toyama-san didn't know Kuroba Kaito, and Fushida Ryuu didn't officially exist.

It was a thought that had flickered in and out of his memory endlessly throughout the week. The fact that Fushida Ryuu wasn't a real person, and yet he was forming a very real friendship with this Osakan girl. There were many times that Kaito had to back down from his character to look at himself and realize that he was growing too attached to that one alias. He would text in the middle of class and not see himself as Kaito-as-Ryuu, or even KID-as-Ryuu, just Ryuu. And as useful as method acting was, he knew that there was always the all-too-real possibility of forgetting that his character was just a character.

He groaned and busied himself with another bite of tamagoyaki. Saturday was it. After Saturday, it would be all over.

He just had to persevere until then.

* * *

 _[text:] Sorry 'bout that, my friend can be a jerk sometimes._

She hadn't noticed what Heiji had sent Fushida-san until after school, and mortification coursed through her. How dare that idiot threaten him like that! He was just doing her a favor! Not that Heiji knew that, but the fact still stood.

 _[text:] It's no problem. Was that the one you were talking about?_

 _[text:] Yeah. He's so full a' himself, he thinks that he can control what I do, even though he's already goin' out wit' someone else._

 _[text:] I know what you mean._

His latest text surprised her, and she furrowed her brows in confusion. Fushida-san never mentioned anything like that. Of course, it was none of her business, but that explained why he was so willing to help her, if he had gone through the same thing.

 _[text:] You wanna talk about it?_

There was an exceedingly long wait between her message and his next, one that made Kazuha wonder if she said something wrong.

 _[text:] Maybe in person._

She breathed a sigh of relief, before realizing that in person was tomorrow, and she had absolutely no idea what to wear. Suddenly slightly panicked, she messaged Ran - which, as it turned out, was a terrible idea.

 _[text:] Ran-chan! Whaddaya think I should wear tomorrow?_

 _[text:] Why? What's going on tomorrow?_

 _[text:] Ya know what's goin' on tomorrow! I'm meetin' up with Fushida-san._

 _[text:] Then why are you so worried, hm? You're only going as friends. Isn't that what you said?_

Kazuha screamed into a pillow. Leave it to Ran to turn her own words against her. She knew that Ran was only teasing her, but still. It was embarrassing, having her point out that Kazuha was really getting worried over nothing.

 _[text:] I'm kidding. But keep it casual, okay? A nice blouse and some shorts. Don't want him getting the wrong impression._

She typed out a quick thanks to Ran before returning to the conversation with Fushida-san, who had, for some odd reason, decided to momentarily spam her with pictures of cute animals. While not unappreciated, she had to wonder what he was up to.

 _[text:] This ain't another one a' yer flirting tactics, is it?_

 _[text:] No, it's a barrage of fluffy critters to cheer you up. Why, is it working?_

She laughed; it was just like him to pull something like that just when she thought she had him all figured out. Shaking her head in disbelief, she typed up another reply and went to go find something to wear.

* * *

 _[text:] The flirtin'? Not at all, but thanks fer the pick-me-up._

Kaito couldn't help but snort at Toyama-san's reply. It had been one of those on a whim actions, but it seemed like she needed it nonetheless. As they continued their conversation, he read it out loud to himself, returning to Ryuu's practiced pitch with ease. Tomorrow was the last day of this charade, and he had to make it count. He had already pre-ordered movie tickets to a martial arts film - it looked campy, but he vaguely remembered Toyama-san mentioning something about practicing aikido and they both agreed that they would probably get a good laugh out of it - and his ensemble was laid out on his desk, wig and all.

 _[text:] So what are we having for lunch?_

 _[text:] Do ya like okonomiyaki? I know a great place just 'round tha corner from tha movie theater._

 _[text:] Okonomiyaki sounds great._

Hmm...he wondered if Ryuu had a favorite food. That suddenly felt like a large hole in his disguise, one that he had overlooked before. Well, he had let slip to Toyama-san that he was ichthyophobic (not a good idea, but he rationalized later that he wasn't the only person in Japan afraid of fish, and he wouldn't have been able to explain why he couldn't go to aquariums any other way), and she already knew he had a sweet tooth (chocolate cake and root beer floats, an odd combination, but oh well)...it wouldn't hurt to tell her that he was a fan of tamagoyaki if she asked. It was a minor detail.

With that in mind, he read the last message of the night - "Good night, see you tomorrow." - and shut off his phone, preferring to stare up at the ceiling instead of move to get ready for bed.

Just tomorrow, then it would be all over.

* * *

 _[text:] I'm at the station._

 _[text:] Where?_

 _[text:] Never mind, I see ya._

A hand waved over the crowded station as Kazuha tried to get Fushida-san's attention. She saw him look straight at her, and grinned before dropping her arm. Really, she had almost forgotten what he looked like; despite having texted each other nonstop, neither of them had any inclination to send each other selfies.

He still had the amiable, easygoing aura that he held the day of the mixer, and she noticed that he was wearing more casual clothes than last time. Good, considering she was the same. In fact-

"It looks like we're matching," Fushida-san made the joke before she could. He was wearing a light blue polo that went along with her own blouse, and khaki pants matched her khaki shorts. "You didn't plan this, did you?"

"I could ask ya the same thing." She was at least grateful for the conversation starter. She had, admittedly, been afraid that seeing him in person would make things awkward, but he easily slipped into the tone they shared via text, and she found herself doing the same. "Sorry fer makin' ya come out all this way, again."

He sighed, running a hand through his black locks. "How many times do I have to tell you not to apologize? It was my choice, anyways." Before she could protest, he grabbed her wrist and began to pull her out of the station. "So you said that the world's best okonomiyaki place was around here, right?"

Somehow, his impatience was more calming than it was stifling, despite his poor attempt to change the topic. It gave her something to focus on, letting her get her word in without pushing for it. Nothing like Heiji.

No. She wasn't going to think of him today. She was going to spend a day with Fushida-san and completely forget about the jerk that broke her heart.

"Oi, I never said that it was tha best in tha world," she protested. "But here, let me show ya." This time, it was her to lead, pulling in his wrist lightly like he had done before. "I hope yer hungry, 'cause yer definitely gonna want seconds!"

* * *

Kaito had to admit, that was some damn good okonomiyaki. He made a note to remember this place the next time he came to Osaka (under a different disguise, of course), and had two servings under Toyama-san's watchful eye. "Told ya it was good," she all but boasted.

"I never said I doubted you," was his reply, and she opened her mouth to retort but was caught off guard by the gentle chime of her phone. "I don't mind," he answered her unvoiced question, and she nodded before looking at her phone.

However, the look on her face turned to one of disgust, and she quickly pressed decline before returning her attention to Kaito. "Sorry 'bout that," she tried to sound amicable, although a bit of contempt still leaked into her voice. "Idjit thinks he can interrupt me any time he wants."

"Your, ah, friend again?" She nodded, and Kaito was glad he left his real phone back in Ekoda. Undoubtedly, Aoko was trying to do the same thing as he spoke. "He's really possessive of you, huh? Even though he has his own girlfriend."

Kazuha flinched. "Boyfriend, actually." She watched Fushida-san for a reaction, but besides the slight surprise, there was no sign of disgust or unease. That was good, in her eyes; despite her obvious disdain for Heiji, she held no negative feelings for the qualities of his relationship. She was glad Fushida-san at least appeared the same.

"If you don't mind me asking," he started, "how long have they...?"

She bit back a sigh. "A week an' a half. A few days 'fore the speed datin' thing." He would probably be able to tell, then, that it was a defense mechanism. Not that she had quite hidden the fact that she was inherently using him.

She was surprised, though, when he laughed dryly. It was...odd, hearing that kind of sound coming from a guy who seemed so easygoing all the time. "It's fresh, then." Now there was something else in his eyes - sympathy? "I had a girl that everybody thought I was going to end up with," he began slowly, and she listened intently. This was what they had talked about the night before, and she was more than willing to give him her full attention. "And there was something between us, for a while. Nothing official, but...something."

Kaito honestly didn't know why he was telling her so much. He barely knew Toyama-san, despite their frequent communication, not to mention that Ryuu was going to disappear from her life forever after that day. Well, maybe that was why. Because he felt comfortable baring his heart to her when the chances of them meeting again were slim to none. "Then...it all kind of fell apart. She changed, I changed." He held back a cynical snort; if anything, he was the one who changed more than Aoko. "I thought we could still make it work, but...she was tired of waiting for me."

Toyama-san waited for a few moments to see if he would say anymore before asking, "How long? Fer her, I mean."

"It'll be their three month tomorrow."

"Oh." So his wound was old. Old, but definitely not healed, not completely at least. His voice gave that much away. She wondered if she would be like that in three months, still pining after a guy who just didn't like her like that. Before she could say anything else, though, Fushida-san waved down a waiter and asked for their dessert menu.

"What do you want, Toyama-san?"

"Eh? I don't have any-"

"It's on me." Kaito could see it in her eyes, that she was worried about the future, and as terrible of a person as he was, he couldn't just let her stay upset like that. "Get anything you want. I'll pick up the tab." Ugh, and he had told her that they would split the bill. But the way she looked at him with grateful surprise and cheered up considerably as she enjoyed a spoonful of her parfait (the cheapest item on the menu, it didn't escape his attention) almost made it worth it.

 _Almost._

* * *

"That movie was terrible."

"I know, right?" Kazuha giggled along with Fushida-san as they mocked the film, making small noises akin to explosions in the back of their throats and running little finger-people up and down their arms to showcase just how bad it was. "I doubt ya can backflip offa the Tokyo Tower and live ta tell tha tale."

Fushida-san waggled a finger at her. "Oh, but it absolutely is! You just have to master twelve different martial art forms in four months, just like the hero did. Oh, and hope that the theory of gravity doesn't apply to you." That earned him another gigglesnort from her, and they both leaned against the theatre wall to catch their breath.

"Tha movie was horrible," she repeated his earlier comment, "but I had fun. Thanks."

"So did I," Kaito replied, and realized that he was being truthful. It was pretty nice to be away from Ekoda and the others and just relax with...a friend? Ryuu's friend. Nothing more.

Toyama-san cleared her throat before speaking again. "Ya think we can do this again next week? I can come down ta Tokyo this time. I mean, if ya still wanna hang out."

And at that, Kaito froze. Today was supposed to be the last day that Fushida Ryuu ever existed, at least in the eyes of Toyama Kazuha, which meant that no, he didn't still want to hang out. And she was giving him an out, the chance to decline her invitation if he so chose. It was easy, just a simple _I can't_.

But he found himself unable to say _I can't_. It honestly was a relief to be able to spend time with Toyama-san, to forget about Kuroba Kaito and Kaitou KID for a day. God, he was just about to make such a stupid decision- "I'd love to, Toyama-san."

She grinned widely, and his stomach dropped to the pits of Tartarus. "All right then! An' call me Kazuha, okay?"

"Right...Kazuha-san." Oh god, he screwed up bad, but there was no going back now. He was in it for the long haul. Fushida Ryuu was stuck with Toyama Kazuha, and Kuroba Kaito had absolutely no say in the matter. "And you can call my Ryuu."

The fact that her smile almost made him not regret his actions didn't help him in the slightest. Fushida Ryuu was already too attached. Kuroba Kaito was getting too attached. Toyama Kazuha was a detriment not only to his health and wellbeing, but also the stability of his psyche. He was going to go crazy, and it was this woman's fault. "All right then, Ryuu-san!" Ugh, she sounded grateful, and she had that nasty habit of making him feel guilty at all the wrongs times.

"I should probably get back," he said, trying to keep his calm although every nerve in his body was screaming at him to run away. "But I'll see you again next week?"

"Yep! Text when ya get back, okay?" He nodded mechanically, Ryuu's default warm smile shining through as Kaito retreated himself to the back of his mind to nurse his wounds. His facade was running on autopilot now. "Bye, Ryuu-san!"

She bounded off, and he watched her go, letting the first traces of regret seep into his visage. God, this was going to end horribly.

* * *

It was four hours later, and Fushida-san - Ryuu-san now - still hadn't texted Kazuha, hadn't texted her since that morning. She hovered worriedly near her phone, waiting for a sign that he got back-

Her impatience was interrupted by a different number, and she scowled at the familiar contact calling her. "What is it, Heiji?" She bit back her anger and tried to stay calm, which would have been easier had it not been Hattori Heiji on the other end of the line.

"Why haven't ya been pickin' up yer phone all day?" He demanded. "I thought ya were in trouble or somethin'!"

"Why would I be in trouble?" Leave it to him to jump to the worst possible conclusions. Any good mood that she could have possibly had leftover from hanging out with Ryuu-san had long since dissipated upon hearing Heiji's voice, and she scowled darkly. "I told ya I was gonna hang out with a friend a' mine!"

The scoff on the other end was indicative of his disbelief, and Kazuha herself couldn't believe how much of an ass Heiji was being. "I called ta make sure he wasn't gettin' ya inta any danger! Ya could've at least sent a text 'r something'!"

"Well he didn't, and I'm fine now, so bye!" Before he could get a word in edgewise, she hung up on him and hesitated a few minutes before busying herself with a message to Ryuu-san. She wasn't sure how much longer this was going to go between her and Heiji, the angry phonecalls and hyper-protectiveness. Was it her fault? Maybe. Maybe she was getting to high-strung, but...it was Heiji's fault, too. She was sure of it. It had to be.

With that, she promised herself not to think of Heiji again until school on Monday, and pressed send.

* * *

 _[text:] Jus' makin' sure yer back safely. Didn't get a message an' I got worried._

Kaito stared at the phone in his hands despondently. He still had the opportunity to call it quits on Toya- on Kazuha-san. Every time she texted him, he could just ignore her. Make her think that he was cutting her out for good. Pretend that she didn't even exist as much as she thought that he did.

And then he would get that stupid, idiotic guilt gnawing at his stomach again and everything would boil back down to his incapability to leave a problem alone.

 _[text:] Sorry! My phone died on the train, so I had to wait until I got back to charge it._

Gods, he was a moron. He stole gems for a living, made a fool out of police on the daily, and yet there he was, feeling guilty over dropping some girl who lived on the other side of the country.

 _[text:] Oh, that's all right! Guess I jus' got a li'l too worried._

 _[text:] Maybe, but I still appreciate it._

Was Fushida Ryuu becoming a little too real? Maybe he needed to change roles. Distance himself from the man that Kazuha-san thought he was. Ugh, or maybe he could claim to be moving to a different country. That was what meitantei had done with Edogawa, right? It was always feasible, if he tried hard enough...

He groaned and messaged Kazuha-san that he was going to bed before shutting off Ryuu's phone and burying his head into a pillow. He was thinking too hard about things. Anyways, he always got what he wanted, and he wanted to get away from her, so eventually the right idea was going to just fall into his lap and lead him to safety. Lady Luck was on his side, she always was.

With that small thought cheering him up, he picked up his own phone and dialed Aoko's number. Maybe it was a good idea to apologize for being gone all day.

* * *

That week passed by even faster than the one before it, and Kazuha found herself preparing for the upcoming weekend almost every day. Even as she texted back and forth with Ryuu-san, she would be googling bullet train times and things to do in Tokyo, or looking through her wardrobe to come up with a good outfit. It was Wednesday when she finally made her choice. The horoscope said that her lucky color for the week was green, and so she decided to go with a dark green blouse and a pair of jeans. She wondered briefly what Ryuu-san's favorite color was, then decided to save the question for the weekend. It would make for a good topic over lunch.

 _[text:] What're ya up to?_

 _[text:] Nothing, really. Just working on a project._

 _[text:] Busy, eh, physics major-san?_

What kind of project was it, she wondered. Well, she didn't know what college was like at all, and wasn't particularly prepared for the entrance exams either, so she wasn't going to spend too much time trying to come up with an answer to her own question.

 _[text:] Quite busy, early education-chan. The evaluation is tomorrow evening, so I'm just looking over everything._

 _[text:] Well good luck! Fight!_

* * *

Kaito almost laughed sardonically at the text he received while poring over the blueprints of the Ekoda Convention Center. If only Kazuha-san knew that she was wishing Kaitou KID luck on his next heist.

He had to wonder if she was a KID fan. She didn't seem like any of his usual fans, who more often than not supported the airheaded fangirl stereotype, but one could never be too sure.

He heard the doorbell ring once, then twice, and he texted Kazuha-san a quick farewell before going to answer it. "Jii-chan," he addressed his guest without even looking up from the file in his hand. It was a visit he had been expecting. "Is everything good to go?"

"Of course, bocchama," the old man replied respectfully. "Kudo-kun and Hakuba-kun both have voiced their attendance, and Nakamori-keibu is doubling security for tomorrow evening." Well, he wasn't surprised to hear that his meitantei was showing up; if anything, Suzuki-chan would have forced him to go either way, god bless her soul. Hakuba, on the other hand, never showed up to Jirokichi's little challenges, so this was a first, but not necessarily a deal breaker.

"Good. I'm going to-" He was cut off by an abrupt buzzing in his pocket, then two more. Upon checking the phone that he had on him, he realized that it was Kazuha-san, and that the three messages were nothing but spammed pictures of cute animals.

 _[text:] Are you trying to flirt me, Kazuha-san?_

 _[text:] :P I just thought ya would need a li'l pick-me-up._

 _[text:] Haha, thanks. I appreciate it._

Kaito didn't realize that a fond smile had crept onto his face until Jii cleared his throat, snapping him out of his cat gif reverie. "Bocchama, are you sure it's safe to be so close to that girl at the moment?" It wasn't hard to read _at the moment_ as _at all_ , and Kaito shrugged in reply.

"I'll cut it off as soon as I can, don't worry. Anyways, regardless of what happens, I'll have to scrap Fushida Ryuu. It isn't like it's the first time I've ditched an alias." Although he had to admit that it was the first time that he had gotten too close to a civilian in one of his aliases. Usually, the police would get suspicious of the new rookie, or the broadcasting station would discover that they never hired a new intern, and Kaito would have to toss the name out for a new one.

But Ryuu...was different. Different in a weird kind of way. There was no suspicion placed on him, nobody wondering if he belonged, only Kazuha-san. She made Fushida Ryuu more real than Kaito ever could have, and that was why he had to disappear.

That almost hurt to think.

He shoved the thoughts out of his head and bade Jii a farewell before returning to the KID basement to triple-check his schematics once again. He wasn't going to think about Fushida Ryuu, or Toyama Kazuha, or any of those problems at the moment...

...until ten minutes later, when she sent him a text wishing him goodnight, and he found himself replying without thinking.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for the wonderful turnout." KID flung his hands wide against a midnight backdrop, perched on the edge of the Sapporo JP. The crowd below ate it up like dogs to a bone, and his cape swirled behind him as he stepped backwards, onto the rooftop. "Meitantei, you're as late as always." His smile gleamed in the darkness, and Shinichi stepped from the shadows, eyeing KID sharply.

"And you seem to be in a bit more of a hurry than you usually are," he commented idly, watching KID's pokerface settle neatly over his visage. He already knew the teen behind the monocle, already knew more about him than anybody else could claim; it was all formalities at this point, pretending to chase him for the sake of catching him rather than, as Kaito liked to say, 'for funsies'. "Anything on your mind in particular?"

KID opened his mouth to voice the negative, but was cut off by a faint buzzing, one that wouldn't have been heard if it weren't for the fact that both KID and Kudo had ears sharper than a meat cleaver. The brrrr, brrrr of the vibrating phone continued for a few seconds, and Shinichi raised an eyebrow, a nonverbal cue of are you going to get that?

KID checked the phone in his pocket, and almost dropped it when he realized that it wasn't Kaito's, but rather Ryuu's. Why it had been on his person, he had absolutely no idea, but he was glad it didn't go off in the middle of the heist. That would have been just awkward.

As it was, though, he swiped to check the text - it was from Kazuha-san, no surprise, a small encouraging text about his 'project'. She was just too naive.

 _[text:] I know I shouldn't be texting you in the middle of your evaluation, but good luck!_

"Is it from your girlfriend?" KID's attention snapped back up to Shinichi, who frowned a little, disconcerted by the rapid change of expressions on the kaitou's face. "I was just kidding, but seriously- you should look at yourself in the mirror."

KID snorted, returning to his usual, sarcastic self. "I have no idea what you're talking about, meitantei. I doubt I would see anything different, except perhaps a more dashing than usual figure in white."

"Very funny, Kuroba, but I'm not kidding. You were smiling. It was weird." While it wasn't weird to see the thief-magician smile in general, Shinichi hadn't seen a grin quite like that on Kuroba in...actually, since he first met the phantom in his civilian guise. It was barely there, the tiny quirk of one side of his mouth that would have been unnoticeable by anybody else, but it held warmth. "Well, it's none of my business, just be careful."

KID simply stared at Shinichi enigmatically. "You're the last person who should be telling me that," he taunted, but it was a faraway thought, not holding quite as much sharpness as usual. "Well, I suppose I'll be off. Say hello to tantei-han, will you? I really wish that you had told me in person; I had to stalk your house to find out."

"I'm not obligated to tell you everything about my personal life," Shinichi retorted, fiddling with his ever-reliable soccer ball belt buckle even as KID's glider unfolded. "I would have hoped that you gave me the same courtesy I give you, but I see now that's impossible." The click of the buckle (and subsequent whoosh of the ball being inflated) coincided with KID jumping from the roof, and Shinichi glowered at the rapidly departing phantom thief, but decided to ditch the opportunity to give him a concussion.

Meanwhile, KID faltered slightly as he hit a particularly bumpy updraft, but rode it out and waited a moment before pulling out his phone. Really, he had no idea what Shinichi meant, but it was irritating that the detective assumed so much because of one little reaction. Leave it to Kudo Shinichi of all people to read into things too much.

 _[text:] I think your encouragement did the trick. I passed with flying colors!_

 _[text:] That's great! I hope the message didn't get you into any trouble._

 _[text:] No, my phone was off during the assessment._

That was a lot of lying, right there, and he had to wonder if Kazuha-san had a superpower that made others feel guilty around her. It was already the third time, and they had barely known each other for a week and a half. Still, the small _:)_ he received back assuaged his worries somewhat, and he could actually feel a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

Wait, what.

He fumbled with the phone, almost panicking as it slipped out of his hands but sighing in relief as he managed to catch it in midair (approximately five-hundred feet in the air, to be exact). He stared at it for a few moments, but decided that it was more trouble than it was worth and tucked it back into his pocket. Whatever it - she - was doing to him, he could analyze it later, when he wasn't in danger of falling five stories down to his death.

Although, if he had to be honest with himself, it felt like the analysis was going to make him wish he had fallen those five stories.

* * *

It was Saturday again, except this time it was Kazuha's turn to find her way through Tokyo station. Well, it was her turn, but as it turned out, Ryuu-san found her first, and she resisted the urge to shriek and roundhouse kick him in the face as he laughed from directly behind her. "We really need to stop matching like this, Kazuha-san."

She took one look at him and realized that, indeed, they were unexpectedly coordinated again, dark green with dark green and jeans with jeans. "Well at least it'll be hard to lose you," she teased. "Do you have anything planned today?"

"Not really, I was going to ask you what you wanted to do." Kaito wasn't going to admit that he had been too busy to figure out a proper plan, both with the heist and with his own self-reflection. Or rather, with procrastinating on his self-reflection. It wasn't something he had looked forward to, so instead he ignored it, like he ignored most things that irritated him. "But if you want, I can think of a few places that might suit your fancy."

The smile she gave him just made that small urge for self-reflection grow a bit larger. "I'll trust your judgment, then. Lead the way!"

* * *

That Saturday seemed to be infinitesimally shorter than the one before, and Kazuha was on the bullet train back to Osaka before she really knew what happened. Which was odd to her, because if she remembered correctly, the two of them spent the same amount of time in Tokyo as they had the weekend prior in Osaka, and yet.

She had already started texting him again by the time the train rolled out of Tokyo, and she stayed on her phone for the entire ride, waiting with anticipation for every message Ryuu-san sent.

Meanwhile, Kaito was dreading every message that Kazuha-san sent him, that gut-wrenching guilt returning after every text that Ryuu replied to.

Again. It had happened again, that stupid voice in his head that was quick to agree to another outing the next week. Really, he hadn't meant to, but it had happened again, and he was stuck with another week to try and figure out how to get out of this mess. He rued the day he had ever met Kazuha-san in the first place.

Except, well, he really didn't. As much as he hated himself for going soft on her, he couldn't deny the fact that he was having fun. She was entertaining to be around, and it was almost as much fun just to watch her run around excitedly as it was to tease her and watch her get flustered. Not to mention the fact that she gave him something to think about, to focus on other than Aoko - while he still stewed over her more than was particularly healthy, it was easier to ignore the negative feelings he associated with her relationship status when he was with Kazuha-san.

With a groan, he slipped Ryuu's phone into his pocket and tried not to think about taking it out every five minutes to see if she replied. He really didn't need this kind of distraction in his life. Not when it was shaping up to be something all too familiar to the magician.

He needed to break it off, and quick.

* * *

Except it wasn't a quick and easy break. It was a slow and painful three months of being unable to say no to Kazuha-san (now Kazuha-chan, that had happened about two months in), and of alternating between Tokyo and Osaka to satisfy their weekly rendezvouses. Every week, she asked if he wanted to meet up again, and every week, he would say yes before he could say no. It was a disaster, a carefully cultivated catastrophe that only grew with his...feelings.

There was no way to get around what he thought about Kazuha-chan anymore, not when he got antsy during the week and craved her presence whenever she wasn't around. It was subtle, the impact that she had on him. At first, it had been the concept of having a friend who wasn't currently dating his enemy. Then, it was knowing that she understood what he was going through. He wasn't sure when it turned from empathy to emotional attraction, but it had happened somewhere along the line, and he had felt the first of what would be many short falls, each ending a little bit closer to the inevitable final conclusion - that he was irrevocably smitten with one Toyama Kazuha.

And with the revelation came the many slip-ups that he made throughout the months. One month in, he accidentally revealed that he was an amateur magician, and ended up putting on a small show for her in the park. The following week, he admitted to living alone, earning sympathy from her but no prying as to his parents' whereabouts. For that, he was grateful.

Not only that, but he learned something new about Kazuha just as much as she learned something about him. He discovered that she truly was good at taking care of children, when they were asked to take care of a child for all of five minutes (Kazuha claimed that he wasn't too bad at it, himself), and that she was a great cook (she made him some homemade cooking and he almost had a heart attack on the spot). He learned that her aikido skills were top notch, and that her parents were rarely ever home as well, and that her father was a cop and her mother, despite being a housewife, was still never around.

With every small detail, every seemingly insignificant fact, he slowly began to realize that this was a different kind of fall than he was used to. Before Kazuha-chan, it had always been Aoko. Aoko, who had known him in his best and his worst, before he started moonlighting and even before his father disappeared.

No, this wasn't like that at all. It wasn't the slow burn for somebody who knew everything about him, for somebody he knew everything about. It was the bright flame that relit every day, the spark that blazed to life for somebody he was getting to know, and for somebody he wanted to get to know every day for the rest of forever.

And that, Kaito concluded despondently, was why he was so, totally screwed.

* * *

For Kazuha, though, it was a fun, enjoyable three months, one that came to a head one weekend in Osaka when she had some news for Ryuu-kun (it was Ryuu-kun, now, not Ryuu-san). "My friend wants ta meet you," she announced almost as soon as he stepped off of the bullet train, their purposefully matching red shirt (Ryuu) and cardigan (Kazuha) meeting on the platform. It had went from being a nice coincidence to becoming a custom, coordinating their outfits to match the day before.

(Ran had teased her endlessly for that, but Kazuha wasn't willing to admit that, somewhere near the second month, it began to make her giddy, the thought of matching with Ryuu-kun. She would never tell her friend that the couple-esque qualities of such an action made her blush a little and smile a lot.)

"Am I finally going to meet this infamous friend of yours, then?" He asked, shooting her a smile that made her heart flutter more than usual, despite it being the same grin as always. "It's been a long time, I'm surprised he hasn't tried to figure out where I live yet."

She debated the pros and cons of admitting that he had tried, and decided against it. She wanted the two of them to get along, and telling Ryuu-kun that Heiji was a stalker probably wasn't going to earn him any points in Ryuu's book. "Well, his boyfriend is here, too, so he decided that meeting you today would be the best idea." No, she wasn't going to think about how this probably constituted as a double date, she decided as she took a swig from her water bottle.

Ryuu raised an eyebrow. "Suddenly this feels less like meeting your friend, and more like meeting the future in-laws." His mirth changed to worry as water was forcefully expelled from Kazuha's mouth and nose, and she coughed violently after almost having choked in her drink. "Are you all right?" She nodded as he rubbed her back and offered her a tissue.

"I'm fine," she gasped a few moments later, not wanting to admit that his words affected her a little bit more than they were probably supposed to. "Let's...go. They're waitin' fer us at the okonomiyaki place we went to that first day."

Kazuha-chan began traipsing away in the direction of the restaurant, and Kaito couldn't help but shoot her a look that was equal parts fond and guilty, the two emotions he had come to realize she invoked in him the most often. Even as they walked towards the restaurant, bumping shoulders occasionally, a sickly sweet warmth settled around him, followed by a sharp pang of regret. Adoration followed by shame, love followed by remorse.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase, _cognito ergo sum_?" He asked after a long silence. She glanced up at him, thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"Can't say that I have. What is it?"

"It's Latin, rationality equates to existence. _I think, therefore I am_." The next look she gave him was one of confusion, not at his words but his intent. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "See, I'm taking a philosophy class, and we're debating whether or not it's accurate to say that you exist just because you can think." Another lie, but one based on facts; Ryuu's whole existence was centered around Kaito's thoughts, Kaito's actions. He had begun to wonder if he was starting to become Ryuu as much as he had created him in the first place.

He was surprised when she hummed and shook her head. "There's gotta be more to it than that. Sure, ya might exist if ya think so, but is it really worth anything if ya don't do anything else? Like..." Her eyes lit up momentarily. "Like feelings. What's tha point of existin' if ya can't feel happy or sad, or fall in love and that kinda stuff?"

Kaito was almost floored by her words, and chuckled a bit under his breath. If you only had to love to exist, than Ryuu would have been a real person a long time ago. "Are you sure you're not already in college?" He teased to break his own tension. "You sure sound like a philosophy student."

"Yer just sayin' that- oh, here we are." She seemed surprised that they had arrived already, and he opened the door for her, waving away the thank you he received in reply.

"Oi, yer late. How long didja plan to keep us waitin'?" He froze at the voice. Despite not having seen him at many heists, he would have been able to single that thick accented baritone out of any crowd. He looked up to see Hattori Heiji glaring at him suspiciously (Could he tell? No, he was probably being possessive of Kazuha-chan...shit.), and he offered the Osakan a cheerful smile. "So yer this Fushida guy that Kazuha's been hangin' round."

"And you must be the friend she's told me so much about," he replied smoothly. "Although if I were to be honest, I never would have expected her best friend to be the great detective of the west, of all people."

Hattori opened his mouth to reply, and that was the moment that his boyfriend decided to step out of the washroom. "Kazuha," Shinichi greeted her upon seeing her first, before turning his attention to Kaito.

The spark of recognition flared in his eyes, and Kaito automatically knew that he was caught. "Who's this?" He was glad that he wasn't addressed directly, instead passing off the introduction to Kazuha-chan, but the stare that Shinichi was leveling him with was still enough to tell him that he wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Guys, this is Fushida Ryuu. Ryuu-kun, I take it y'already know who these two are?"

"Of course," Kaito slipped into the amiable facade once more, tucking his internal panic away for the time being. "You would be hard-pressed to find somebody who doesn't know Hattori Heiji and Kudo Shinichi." That received an unimpressed stare from Shinichi, and the same suspicious glare from Hattori that he had had to deal with for the past few minutes. Kazuha-chan seemed to notice the tension and, god bless her soul, made to get them seated.

Not that it made much of a difference, all thing considered, but the attempt was appreciated. They ordered lunch, and there were a few attempts at striking up a conversation, but none of them went over very well, either being cut short by Hattori or started by Hattori and subsequently shut down by Kazuha-chan or Shinichi (even Kaito could tell that Hattori was being purposefully abrasive, and frankly, he didn't want to get into an argument with the loudmouth).

About halfway through their meal, Kaito was finally allowed some sort of reprieve from the probably homicidal detective when he stood up and grabbed Kazuha-chan's arm, forcing her to follow him to undoubtedly have a heated discussion. This was nice and all, but it also left Kaito at the mercy of Shinichi, who stared after the two osakans before turning back to him, an eyebrow raised.

"What the hell are you playing at, Kuroba?" His voice was sharp, but thankfully not a forceful as he expected. Or rather, as he had dreaded. He wasn't quite sure what to expect from Shinichi, but he had mapped out the worst case scenario in his head several times over the course of the past fifteen minutes.

Kaito shrugged, taking a sip of his water. "I'm not playing at anything, meitantei." Back to nicknames, trying to separate himself from the situation in typical Kaito fashion. "Why, must I always be up to something? Have you grown paranoid of our uneasy alliance?"

Shinichi was confused, that much was obvious at the growing frustration on his face. "No, but I'd call fraternizing with Kazuha while in disguise being up to something. Was she-" He paused, comprehension flickering over his visage for a brief moment, and stared at Kaito incredulously. "She's who you keep texting in the middle of heists." Kaito gave no inclination towards either a confirmation or a denial, but he had no need to. Shinichi already knew that he was right, anyways. "Kaito, you're...oh my god, you're actually _into_ her, aren't you?"

Kaito hummed slightly, a quiet tune that meant nothing, but there was a slight blush dusting his face that proved Shinichi correct. "I don't see how my personal life is any of your business," he mimicked what Shinichi had said all those months ago. "I can be friends with whomever I so please."

"First of all," Shinichi groaned, placing a hand on his face in aggravation, "just looking at you two, I can tell you've already passed the point of wanting to be friends. It's almost sickening." Kaito refused to point out that Shinichi probably had no idea how to display affection at all and thus had no right to tell him what was sickening. "And second, this isn't your personal life, Kuroba. This is one of your stupid disguises toying with Kazuha, whether you want to admit it or not."

Kaito's humming was interrupted by a slight crack in his voice, the stumbling in his melody the only indication that Shinichi had struck a weak spot. That was, until he finally sighed and took another sip of his drink. "I know, I know, but cut me some slack here. I didn't know things would get out of hand."

"You didn't know- Kuroba, how did you even meet Kazuha?" It was a long story, but a story that Shinichi was willing to listen to. It was surprising that Kazuha and Hattori hadn't returned yet, but judging by how quiet the restaurant was, he only assumed that the two had taken their screaming match outside. By the time he was finished relaying the events of the past three months, Shinichi was less incredulous and more resigned. "I can't believe I'm just about to say this," he muttered mostly to himself, looking down at his food before glancing back up at Kaito. "You...have actually done a lot more good than harm. You're...oh god, I'm going to regret saying this, but you're good for her."

Kaito had to admit that he was confused, wondering where in the chronological list of his fuck-ups Shinichi saw any positivity. Not that it wasn't good to hear that coming from Shinichi - later, he would probably gag at the fact that it felt like gaining approval from his mother-in-law, but at the moment it was...nice, hearing that him and Kazuha made a good fit.

No, that Ryuu and Kazuha made a good fit. There it was starting to hurt again.

"You're going to have to tell her one of these days," Shinichi said offhandedly, "and I can guarantee you that she'll probably hate you to the ends of the earth, but for now you two are helping each other out. It's...not the worst thing you could have done." He cleared his throat. "I will have to tell Heiji, though. I hope you know that."

Before Kaito could offer a reply, the front door of the restaurant swung open, and Kazuha-chan stomped back to her seat, followed by an equally fuming Heiji. He wondered how bad it had gotten, but decided that it wasn't his business (well, it was, but frankly, he didn't want it to be his business, so it wasn't going to be). Sensing that things were only going to get worse from there on out, both Kaito and Shinichi signalled for the bill, and they were out within minutes, partially because of great customer service and partially out of desperation to not be in the vicinity of Kaito's new favorite okonomiyaki place when the two Osakans lashed out again.

'Well I had a great time," Kaito lied through his teeth, "but it's getting late, so I should probably catch a bullet back home." Kazuha-chan went from looking furious to slightly upset, and that shouldn't have cheered him up as much as it did. Knowing that she valued his presence just made him more of a lovesick fool than he already was.

Shinichi glanced at the other, still-livid detective and clicked his tongue. "I'm going to stay here, just to make sure this idiot-"

"Oi!"

"-doesn't do anything too stupid. You can make the trip by yourself, right?"

"I've only been making it for the past three months, but I appreciate the concern, Kudo-san." He smiled at him amiably, and despite his words, was glad that he didn't have to ride back with his doppelganger. They already had one awkward heart-to-heart that day, and he didn't necessarily want another one. "Kazuha-chan, I'll see you next weekend?"

"Yeah," she perked up the slightest bit, smiling at him (which, in turn, made Hattori growl at him). "I'll text ya later, too, all right?" He agreed, and the two traded farewells with each other before Kaito nodded towards the detective beaus and parted from the group.

He was barely five minutes out of Osaka when he received a text from Kazuha-chan, one that made him smile in spite of himself.

 _[text:] I'm so sorry fer today. I didn't know the idjit was gonna be so...unapproving, I guess._

 _[text:] That's fine. It's not your fault. Kudo-san seems to like me, at least._

His mind wandered back to Shinichi's earlier words - _"You're going to have to tell her one of these days, and I can guarantee you that she'll probably hate you to the ends of the earth,"_ \- and he sighed before turning off his phone. The feeling of being stuck in a rut was very much there, except it was a rut he didn't particularly want to get out of.

Especially if leaving that rut meant leaving Kazuha-chan behind.

* * *

Kazuha was worried when Ryuu-kun didn't answer her texts for the next few hours, but sighed in relief when he finally messaged her an apology and a goodnight. It was still fairly early, but the day had just worn her out so much, between trying to appease Hattori and then finally getting sick of his shit and yelling at him for not trying to get along with Ryuu-kun. She had thought that he would have been happier that she had found somebody she could hang out with, but he was nothing but an asshole about the whole thing.

With a groan, she turned over in her bed, wanting nothing more than to sleep everything off.

She didn't remember falling asleep, but she must have, for she was awoken at an obscenely late hour of the night - her phone clock read 2:07. The buzzing of her call notifications had awakened her, and she saw that there were three missed calls, all from Heiji, but no messages left. With a scowl, she tried to call him back, to no avail. Every single time, she would just go straight to voicemail. "That idjit," she muttered under her breath, along with a few choice curses as she shook the sleep from her system and grabbed a jacket and shoes. "Callin' at two in tha mornin', who does he think he is? This better be important..."

She lived barely five minutes away from Heiji, which she was grateful for as she pulled her jacket tighter around her, the wind nipping at her skin. If she hadn't been fully awake when she had been roused from slumber, then she most definitely was now. By the time she reached the Hattori household, she was freezing, and a shivering hand reached up to knock on the door - only to find it unlocked. There were voices coming from inside, undoubtedly Heiji and Kudo, but she had to wonder why they would be up so early, and talking so loudly.

She pushed the door open and stood in the hallway, staring at the two men who looked to be in some sort of argument. Kudo was shirtless, and pulling at Heiji's arm, but the tanned detective wrenched it out of his grasp as he wrestled on a jacket over an extremely wrinkled grey shirt. "Heiji, come on, you shouldn't be doing this," Shinichi pleaded.

"She needs ta know, and if you aren't gonna tell her, then I hafta be the one ta do it," he shot back, still turned to glare at Shinichi, not noticing that Kazuha was standing in the entryway.

Shinichi attempted once more to grab at Heiji's arm, but to no avail. "You're being reckless and you know it, now-"

"The one ta do what?" Kazuha finally made her presence known, and the two men turned to look at her, Heiji with stifled rage and Shinichi with abject horror. "What do I need ta know?"

"Heiji, don't-" Shinichi tried one last time to plead with his boyfriend, but was cut off by his voice, the epitome of seriousness as he scowled at Kazuha.

"That yer boyfriend is tha fuckin' Kaitou KID."

Kazuha blinked once, twice, three times before bursting out laughing, leaning against the door to steady herself. "I...I can't believe it," she said finally, and her mirthful grin turned into a downright terrifying scowl. "I can't believe ya called me at two in tha mornin' just ta play some stupid prank on me! Just 'cause ya don't like Ryuu-kun ain't mean he's a criminal!" Her eyes drifted from Heiji to Shinichi, and she signalled for the Beikan to say something. "Right, Kudo? Tell Heiji he's bein' an idjit!"

The look on Shinichi's face wasn't the one she was accustomed to seeing, though. She had expected to see him pull his trademark deadpan, the one that read clearly, stop joking around and get to the point. No, this wasn't it. It was a reserved nervousness, one that she had seen more on Heiji than she ever had on Shinichi. An expression torn between telling Kazuha what she wanted to hear, and telling her the truth.

She stared at both of them for a few more moments before breathing out a deep sigh. "Ya know what. Just 'cause ya think he's a villain ain't mean that's so. I'm gonna prove it to ya. Ryuu-kun ain't Kaitou KID. He's a good guy."

"Kazuha-" Shinichi started, but she cut him off with a glare.

"I don't know what ya put inta this asshole's mind, Kudo, but I don't appreciate it. Now if none a' ya have anythin' important ta say, I'm gonna go get s'more sleep. Good night." Without sparing them another glance, she left, slamming the door behind her and walking back into the cold night. The two of them were rightful idiots, and she bitterly refused to listen to a word that either of them said. Just because he was an amateur magician didn't mean anything! There were hundreds of magicians in Japan, probably even thousands.

And he had projects that were always on the nights of KID's heists, so obviously...obviously he couldn't be at a heist and at school at the same time. That is, if he was even at school, but- no, no, she wouldn't think that. Ryuu-kun wouldn't lie to her. She just knew it.

Despite her best efforts to trust in him, she was still fretting over the small inconsistencies, the tiny _what ifs_ , all the way up until she finally managed to fall asleep again.

* * *

Kaito was worried when he didn't receive any texts from Kazuha-chan that Monday, but he didn't have much time to worry about that as he was dragged into an empty hallway after school by one of the usual suspects.

It worried him that Hakuba Saguru could now be considered one of the usual suspects, ranking right up there with Aoko and Akako, but again, that wasn't one of his main concerns at the moment. "Kuroba-kun," the blond started after making sure nobody was in the vicinity (seeing how Hakuba had asked Aoko to make sure they could talk in private, Kaito doubted anybody would be able to get past her), "I talked to Kudo-kun yesterday evening."

"And? Should I care what you and your detective buddies are up to?" He frowned at Hakuba's roundabout manner of speech. The half-Brit was used to getting answers as soon as he wanted them, of cutting to the chase and leaving out the fluff, but now he was...hesitating?

Hakuba cleared his throat and looked down at him seriously. "I know that you would rather not hear this from me, and, for the time being, please put aside your silly notion of attempting to pretend not to be KID."

"But I'm not-"

"Kuroba." His protest was cut off by a single sharp word, and he scowled at Hakuba.

"Okay, pretending that I am KID, what now?"

Hakuba released a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was beginning to regret trying to be a 'good boyfriend' and 'making nice to Kuroba-kun'. "I was informed of your situation, and while I don't know Toyama-san personally-" he didn't necessarily make it a habit to hang out with Hattori's friends, bar Kudo, "-I have noticed a...change in your behaviors as of late. Positive behavioral changes." He cleared his throat once again, before awkwardly continuing. "While I am not exactly approving of your attempts to kindle a relationship with a civilian while you are, well," he made vague hand gestures that were probably supposed to resemble while you are Kaitou KID, "I do think that she's a good influence on you. So there."

Kaito couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Are you trying to congratulate me for being in a relationship with a girl I don't even know?"

"Ugh. Why do I even bother." Hakuba rubbed his forehead, grimacing. "Yes, Kuroba, I am doing just that. Now get out of my sight before I wish to exact physical revenge on you for making me sound like a fool."

"You don't just sound it," he commented airily, but was halfway down the hall when he turned slightly to look back at him. "Oi, Hakubastard."

Another groan. "What is it now, Kuroba."

There were a few beats of silence before he answered. "...thanks, I guess."

"Is that gratitude, coming from the infamous Kaitou KID?"

"You know what, I take that back. Go jump off a bridge."

* * *

Kazuha-chan didn't text him until Wednesday, and the three and a half days between then put him on edge. It wasn't until Thursday, though, that he knew for certain that something was wrong. He could feel it, even in the message she sent.

 _[text:] I'm in Tokyo. Can we meet up? I need ta ask ya somethin'._

He hesitated for a few minutes before replying. Out of the millions of things she could have possibly thought to ask him, none of them were good. But he had to go; even if he didn't want to, he knew he wouldn't be able to say no.

 _[text:] Sure. Where are you?_

 _[text:] Beika Park._

 _[text:] Give me five minutes._

Class barely got out ten minutes ago for him, and yet she was already in Tokyo - did she skip school? He frowned, his worry only increasing at the thought. It took him barely thirty seconds to change into his disguise, having grown so used to it that it became almost second-nature to him, and was true to his word, arriving at the park in five minutes and finding her on a bench nearby. "Kazuha-chan, are you okay?" He gave her a worried look as he sat down next to her

As soon as Kazuha saw Ryuu-kun, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She had been so on edge about the whole thing that just seeing him lifted an invisible weight off of her shoulders. She was worrying about nothing; he would laugh at her for even entertaining the idea of him being KID, and everything would go back to normal. "I'm fine," she said, giving him a grin. It was odd, how just seeing him could make her feel so much more relieved.

Odd, but not unwelcome. Sure, she could be dense, but it wasn't like she couldn't read her own thoughts. Maybe after this whole thing blew over, she could, maybe, ask something else...she shook the thoughts out of her mind. Maybe later, but not now. "Sorry, it was just that Heiji said something really stupid, and I got upset for no reason. I mean, I can't believe some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth!"

Kaito froze. Hattori had said something? About him? His mind immediately zoned in on the worst possible thought, that Shinichi had told Hattori about him, and that he had let it slip to Kazuha-chan. Still, he tried to keep his cool, despite feeling his casual pokerface slip ever so slightly. "Really? What did he say that made you so upset?"

"He- He said that you were Kaitou KID." She laughed lightly, but it was a hesitant laugh. An expectant laugh. Except he wasn't laughing back, and his pokerface had cracked just a bit too much under the pressure. "Ryuu-kun? Ain't that funny? There's no way that you- that you would be...right? Ryuu-kun?"

Kaito licked his lips nervously before pursing them and standing up. Fine. Fine, if that was how it was going to play out, then he could deal with it. He had been waiting for fate to hand him his out anyways, had wanted this to happen for months, so he had might as well take the chance while he could, his (and her) own wellbeing be damned. "Well, it's been nice knowing you, Toyama-san."

She flinched as Ryuu-kun went back to calling her by her last name, but the hurt was replaced by realization. He was dodging the question, when it should have been easy to just deny it and move on. It was an easy question, a ridiculously easy question- unless he actually was KID. "You..." She trailed off, not sure what to say as her mix of emotions turned volatile. "You _are_ KID, aren't ya?"

"I said it was nice knowing you," he repeated blankly, retreating back into his shell to pick up the broken pieces of his mask.

Her breath hitched, and she swallowed thickly. "Bullshit." At that, he turned to look at her - even his eyes weren't the same, what was going on - and she tried to scowl, although the expression came out more hurt than angry. "Absolute bullshit. We've been friends fer three months, and I find out that ya've been toyin' with me this whole time?"

That stung more than it should have; Shinichi had said the same thing. Although, Kaito supposed he could see where they got that assumption. KID wasn't exactly known for sticking around and making friends with people. He was known for doing things on a whim, for pranks and tricks.

Not...whatever this had turned out to be.

"I honestly thought we were friends," she spat, and it was a wonder she hadn't punched him yet. "I was..." Another few breaths, deeper, trying to calm her anger. "I thought I was startin' ta _like_ ya."

"So yeah," she bit back the tears threatening to form at the corners of her eyes; she had just admitted to having feelings for somebody that Kaitou KID _made up_ , and now she felt both pathetic and absolutely livid. "It was nice knowin' ya, Fushida-san. If that's even yer real name." She wrapped her arms around herself defensively and stood up as well, turning away from him. "Yer lucky I'm not gonna call the police. Bye."

He only turned to watch her go as soon as he knew she wasn't facing him, and would have laughed at himself if he didn't know that any attempt at vocalizing his current emotions would only result in tears afterwards. Gods, she had the worst habit of making him feel guilty at the most inopportune moments.

Except this time, the guilt was accompanied by pain, lots of pain. It was the sharp pang that came to him so often, except so much more intense that he wondered when exactly he had managed to trick himself into thinking that it would be all right.

Gods, he was an idiot, and he took a moment to sit down and catch his breath, still resisting the strong urge to laugh until he cried. He had spent so long pretending that he always got what he wanted that he wasn't willing to admit that he didn't. Kuroba Kaito didn't always get what he wanted. Kaitou KID did. Kuroba Kaito had lost Aoko.

And now he was going to lose Kazuha, too.

* * *

The rest of the week was a complete disaster. If Kazuha had felt mad at Heiji before, it couldn't possibly compare to how she was feeling now. Heiji had broken her heart, sure, but Fushida-san...no, KID had built her back up before breaking her again. He had been her crutches, then he took them away.

Heiji kept doting on her, all throughout Thursday, and Friday fared no better. The only thing that anybody would talk about was the heist that night. She flinched every time the name Kaitou KID was even mentioned, and Heiji almost punched a few of the loudmouths. While thankful that he cared, she really wished that he didn't risk getting detention over her problems.

Really, the idiot was going to wreck his reputation at this rate, and it only got worse when he threatened to show up at the heist, 'ta give that bastard a piece a' my mind'. It took her, Shinichi and Ran (who had no idea of the situation, god bless her poor soul) to convince him to stay in Osaka; it was Ran who suggested that he watch out for Kazuha, who didn't appreciate the gesture as much as Ran had hoped. She felt like she was being babied. She didn't need anybody to take care of her. She could nurse her wounds by her damned self, thank you very much.

Except to Kazuha, nursing her wounds meant wallowing in self-pity, and watching the televised heist despite literally everybody else telling her not to. She had kicked Heiji out of the house less than five minutes after he got there, and refused to let him back in. She wondered briefly where he went, but shook her head and decided that she didn't care.

The museum hall being displayed on the TV filled with smoke as Kazuha curled up underneath a light blue blanket, watching but not really paying attention until it cleared, revealing a white cloaked man that, really, shouldn't have made her heart jump a little like it did. He smiled dazzlingly into the camera, and she could practically feel Fushida Ryuu in the way he held himself. Nothing about him was the same, but it was still so distinct. It was like looking at a picture and knowing that, behind all that makeup, it was still the same guy.

It made her sick.

"I apologize," his voice was higher than Fushida's, and a little darker, but she could hear the same inflections as he spoke. "I have to cut this performance short, but I hope you all enjoyed tonight's little show."

He disappeared in the same smoke that he emerged out of, and she turned off the TV, burying her head into the blanket to scream, yet not making a sound.

Stupid Fushida Ryuu. Stupid Kaitou KID.

* * *

"For a genius phantom thief with an IQ of four hundred, you can be a real idiot, sometimes, Kuroba."

"Yes, but if I'm an idiot, then what does that make you, _meitantei_ who can never seem to catch me?"

Shinichi bit back a groan and scowled at KID's false smile. Really, why was he the one doing damage control on that spoiled brat's love life? He deserved an award or something for putting up with him for this long. "That's not what I mean and you know it," he ground out. "You straight-up told her that you're KID. That's the last thing that anybody would expect you to do."

KID smiled blankly back. "I'm not exactly known for being predictable," he mused sardonically. "Anyways, I didn't tell her. Your boyfriend did."

Oh, so that's how it was going to be? Getting bitter at Shinichi's moderately successful love life while he wallowed in self-pity? "One of these days, I'm going to aim for your glider and not care if you splatter against the sidewalk at terminal velocity," he muttered mostly to himself, before addressing KID again. "Okay, so Heiji told her, and then she asked you about it. And you just let her walk away like that? What happened to the egotistical bastard that always got what he wanted?"

The grin slipped off of KID's face quickly, and he released his glider, but not before a soccer ball inflated in front of Shinichi. "Why would you care so much? This is a professional relationship, _meitantei_. I don't understand why you're so keen on meddling in my personal affairs."

"Kazuha is a disaster thanks to you," Shinichi growled, "and Heiji's a trainwreck because of that. So really, you pissed off my boyfriend, his best friend, _and_ me in the span of however long it took for Kazuha to spit in your face and walk away. I'd advise that you stop asking me why I'm so keen on doing anything."

KID - no, Kaito felt that familiar pang of guilt at Shinichi's words. Sure, Kazuha had said that she liked him, perhaps more than as a friend (and under other circumstances, that would have made him a lot happier than it had), but he hadn't exactly stopped to think about how the falling out had affected her. He was hurt, of course, but she was the one who had been hurt by him. Ugh, she had the worst habit of making him guilty at the worst possible times.

She also had the habit of making him do things that he would sorely regret later on.

"At least go talk to her, you bastard," Shinichi said finally before aiming the ball for his head. He ducked in time, watching the black and white blur zoom off into the darkness, and fell back without even saying farewell.

Gods, Kudo needed to stop talking him into doing things.

* * *

Kazuha awoke with a start on Saturday morning, still curled up on the couch, wrapped snugly in her blanket. Her phone was on the coffee table, buzzing furiously, and it took her a few moments to untangle herself from her blanket and reach for it, checking caller ID first. [Kudo Shinichi] was displayed in bright white characters.

"Kudo-kun," she grumbled as she answered, "why're ya callin' so early, it's-" She glanced at the clock and blanched at how late it was. "It's one in tha afternoon, okay, whaddaya need?"

There was a laugh masked as a cough on the other end, before Shinichi replied. "Do you promise not to hang up immediately?"

"...I promise." She had a really bad feeling about this, but gave her word nonetheless.

"Well then, it's about Kaitou KI-"

She hung up.

The phone began to vibrate in her hand again, and she groaned before answering. "What?"

"You promised not to hang up," Shinichi deadpanned.

"Well that was before ya brought up KID."

"I brought up KID for a good reason."

"Is there ever a good reason ta bring up KID?"

"When you're being a bigger blockhead than Heiji, yes."

She paused, scowling at his words before she realized he couldn't see her. "Oh really? Why am I bein' such a _blockhead_? 'Cause I'm upset that an international thief was takin' advantage a' me?"

"Yes," was his casual reply. "Kazuha, you should probably listen to what I have to say before you go on another rampage."

"I'm not gonna _go on a rampage_ or somethin'. Everybody thinks I'm just gonna fall apart or explode whenever somethin' bad happens ta me."

"Because honestly, that's what you do. But that's not important right now," he added quickly as Kazuha took a deep breath to retort. "What's important is that you understand that KID really isn't as bad a guy as you think he is."

She paused, suspicion crossing her face. "Are ya seriously listenin' ta yerself right now, Kudo-kun? He's a criminal-"

"Okay, he's kind of a douche. More than kind of a douche. And granted, he does have a bounty larger than the highest budgeted Hollywood film," Kazuha didn't particularly care about how he even knew that, "but he's not a bad person. Er, relatively speaking."

"Yer not makin' any sense," she snorted, "and if yer tryin' ta make me feel better, it sure as hell ain't workin'."

"Oh my god," He groaned in frustration, and there was a sound reminiscent of a facepalm. "What I'm trying to say is that yes, he might be a criminal, but he kind of does give a damn about other people." He cleared his throat and she waited for him to continue. "So maybe you could give him another chance?"

She was honestly flabbergasted at his words. "You're telling me that I should go out with a wanted man?"

"He's got his reasons." There was another facepalm on the other end of the line, and Shinichi mumbled something that vaguely sounded like, _I can't believe I'm sticking up for this guy, holy shit._ "Yeah, his entire existence is illegal, but you two were honestly good for each other. As pissed as Heiji was, even he noticed that you were smiling a lot more than usual."

Her mind wandered back to where it had been for the past few days, namely the months that she spent getting to know Fushida Ryuu. She didn't even know if he existed, and yet every time she thought about him, it hurt knowing that he had lied to her - but she had to admit that even if he had lied to her, he never once had tried to hurt her. Even when she yelled at him...

Ugh, she was feeling guilty over getting mad at a criminal. And Kudo was the one who made her feel guilty. Over a _criminal_. The world was probably going to end soon or something. She turned to look at the blank television monitor, and KID's smile flashed in her mind for a moment, her imagination illuminating it on the screen. It was the same smile that Ryuu used, the same one that she had almost fallen for-

The forced almost almost made her laugh. God, she was a wreck. "Fine," she finally muttered. "Fine, but even if I'm _willin'_ ta give him another chance," which was a massive if, even if her heart still did that stupid fluttery thing at his smile, "I can't. Everythin' about 'im was a lie. Hell, I don't even know who he is, and it ain't like he's gonna want ta ever see me again."

"Ah, I...don't think that's going to be a problem," Shinichi said, sounding almost defeated as he spoke. She made a questioning noise in the back of her throat, but was interrupted by the doorbell echoing throughout the house. "You might want to get that," Shinichi said quickly before hanging up on her. She stared at the phone incredulously, the dialtone mimicking her shock.

That bastard _didn't_.

The doorbell rung once more, and she got up slowly, pausing at the lock, unsure as to whether she even wanted to open it. One last ring made her mind up for her, and she unlocked the door before wrenching it open.

She wasn't sure what she expected - Kaitou KID in all of his white-suited glory, absolutely not, but not Fushida Ryuu, either - but it wasn't the pale brunet that was on the doorstep, looking like he was ready to bolt at the same time he was exuding an air of arrogance. "Can I help ya'?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Really, there was no way that this kid could be, well, KID. There must have been some mistake.

However, the thoughts were proved wrong as he stared at her for a few moments, looking like he was searching for something but she couldn't figure out what, before taking a step back and bowing, almost at a complete ninety degree angle.

Kaito swore he could feel his pulse in his throat, which was probably why he couldn't speak for a few seconds. Contrary to popular belief, he - neither KID nor Kaito - wasn't good at confrontation, having always been on the flight side of the adrenal response. He also wasn't good at talking to people who knew that he was KID; that much was obvious with his abrasiveness towards Hakuba and, on a few occasions, Kudo. And now he was having to deal with both at the same time, unable to hide behind a mask as he was stared at by Kazuha.

He swallowed thickly, prayed to whatever gods listened to Atheists, and spoke.

"My name is Kuroba Kaito," the boy started, and Kazuha heard that same inflection, a few pitches higher that Ryuu like the phantom thief's, but with the same light texture hidden behind a shaky voice, nothing like the darkness of KID. "I am a third year at Ekoda High School, a prankster and an amateur magician."

"I-"

Her attempt to interrupt him were cut off as he ploughed on. "My favorite food is tamagoyaki, my best friend is going out with my mortal enemy, and I have an extreme fear of f-f-f- _fish._ " She was surprised that he could even say the word fish, considering the number of times Fushida Ryuu had skirted around the term with _finny thing_.

She waited, and he glanced up at her, still halfway folded over. "I..." He started, but stopped, visibly clenched his jaw - she allowed herself some smug satisfaction at seeing him so stressed out - and tried again. "Not... _everything_ was a lie."

She studied him for a few more minutes, taking in everything about him. He was paler than Ryuu, and his eyes were amethysts instead of emeralds. Even his hair was lighter, his face an entirely different shape. He was nothing like the guy she had fallen for.

Her gaze rose to look behind him, where a familiar red Mustang was seated on the curb. Her eye twitched minutely, wondering exactly how much of this Kudo had planned. That idiot...before she could lash out at the manipulative jerk behind the wheel, she took a deep breath, turning her attention back to the boy in front of her.

"Listen, KI-...Kuroba-kun," she started, and he stood back up straight, making her realize just how much taller he was than her. At least there was one part about him that he hadn't changed. "Whatever you told me when you were Fushida Ryuu," she couldn't look at him as she said the name of his alias, "however much of it was also true for _you_ , I don't know any of that." His expression remained the same, although she could almost feel the nervousness rolling off of him. For a criminal who valued his pokerface, she was starting to realize, he really was too easy to read. "You're a stranger ta me, Kuroba-kun. There's nothin' between us at all."

That was when his expression started to change, and she could see the hurt in his eyes all too well. It wasn't the same as seeing Fushida Ryuu, of not wanting to see him in pain, but...she had to admit to herself that seeing him make that kind of face was starting to hurt her, too.

He turned to leave, and she bit the inside of her cheek, wondering if she was going to regret her decision later on.

"You're a stranger," she repeated as Kuroba Kaito took his first step away from the house, "but...if yer free later, I might be willin' ta get ta know ya a little better." The speed at which he turned back around was astounding, and she almost got whiplash just from watching him. The pain in his eyes was replaced by surprise, then hope, then finally relief as he hesitantly spoke, voice wavering less than earlier.

"If you want," he began, and Kaito couldn't resist the nervous tic that he had, shifting from side to side and unable to look her straight in the eye. He wasn't going to fuck this up again. He wasn't going to let himself do that to himself, or to her. "There's this great, uh, restaurant around the corner. I, er, was told that it made the best okonomiyaki in...the world."

Kazuha allowed herself a tiny grin, feeling that invisible weight lifted once again. This was KID, and her mind wasn't going to let her forget it, not for a very long while, but Fushida Ryuu was KID anyways- or rather, Fushida Ryuu had been Kuroba Kaito all along. "But it ain't a date," she reminded him, relieved and tired and not quite caring that she was still in her pajamas, on her own doorstep, at one in the afternoon, propositioning a high school jewel thief. "And since we're goin' out to eat, we're goin' Dutch."

Kaito broke out into a large grin at her words. She had the worst habit of making him feel guilty at the most inopportune times, but this time, it didn't hurt. "I'll pay for it," he told her, and she snorted.

Even if he didn't look like Fushida Ryuu, damn, that smile could make her heart flutter. "Don't get ahead a' yerself. We're goin' Dutch."

* * *

 **FIN**

* * *

 **GA:** And that's the end of the main story! There's a tiny omake at the end for you, in Shinichi's point of view, followed by a few comments that I made while writing this monstrosity. Besides that, though, I hope you enjoyed it and, really, _really_ hope a few of you come out of it at least contemplating KaiZuha as a possible pairing.

'Til next time!

~G. Annihilator

* * *

 **OMAKE**

* * *

Shinichi stared deadpan at the two on Kazuha's doorstep, leaning against the steering wheel in a mix of boredom and disgust. Were they making lovey dovey eyes at each other again? Oh my god, he was glad he was too far away to be able to tell. Jesus Christ, those two needed to get a room.

His mental gagging was interrupted by his phone ringing some bubbly pop song, and he took the moment to check his new message. Really, that was the last time he let Ran change Heiji's assigned ringtone.

 _[text:] Hey, are ya done wit' whatever ya said you were gonna be doin'?_

Oh, right. He contemplated the pros and cons of telling Heiji that he re-hooked Kazuha up with Kaitou KID, and decided against it. Maybe he'd tell him sooner or later, but...later sounded a lot nicer at the moment.

 _[text:] Not quite. I might be busy until later tonight. Feel free to crash at my place if you need to._

With that finished, he pocketed his cell and pressed the car horn three times in quick succession, and the two lovestruck idiots turned to look at him.

"I'd appreciate it if you hurried it up a little," he called out as soon as he rolled the window down. "Some of us don't have all day." He paused a moment before reconsidering. "Actually, if you two are going out to eat, take me with you. I need an excuse to avoid Heiji. And you're paying for me, Kuroba. God knows how much you owe me."

He rolled the window up and shifted slightly in his seat, feeling a little proud of himself.

All in a day's work.

* * *

 **COMMENTS**

 **1\. TITLE:** The title of the fic is obviously _Ama Ergo Sum,_ which translates to _I love, therefore I am_. I hope I did some justice in explaining this in-fic (in Kaito's spiel about _cognito ergo sum_ ), in which Kaito found that loving Kazuha made Fushida Ryuu so much more real than he was.

 **2\. KAZUHA:** I tried not to make Kazuha a fairy tale princess in this fic, but it might have backfired on me a little. She got a little too explosive at times, a little too defensive at others, but I still hope I did better than the canon "Ooh, save me, Heiji, ooh."

 **3\. KAITO:** I muse Kaito in four different styles (indie RP, dependent RP, ficwriting and songwriting), and yet I still feel like I was way off with him. Ugh. He's such a...volatile? Character that I'm never too sure if I portray him right. Maybe I portray him right in a lot of different ways, but wrong at the same time. [shrugs]

 **4\. PARENTS:** Halfway through the fic, I briefly wondered, "huh, where are Kazuha's parents in all this?" Then I just shrugged and chalked it up to the trend of terrible parents that DCMK seems to have.

 **5\. CREDITS:** Two very important people. The first, my beta/proofreader, Appi, who managed to read this beast in one sitting and point out quite a few flaws. And the second, my girlfriend, who I love more than anything else in the world, and wholistened to me prattle on about this ship, this fic and everything else under this sun. If this fic does no good, and if KaiZuha remains the tiny little dinghy in the DCMK armada, then at least I'm glad to have these two on my side.


End file.
